While Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Wash., is given credit for Father’s Day, history shows that the first Father’s Day celebration occurred in Fairmont, W.Va., on July 5, 1908.
The seeds of a Father’s Day Service were planted on Dec. 6, 1907, when a horrible mine explosion at Monongah, near Fairmont, killed more than 360 men, 210 of whom were fathers, leaving 250 widows and more than 1,000 children grieving.
The MountainMade Country Store has been consolidated with the Artisan Gallery in Thomas. Now you’ll have one-stop shopping in Thomas for everything including books, food products, toys, fine art glass and lots more. The Pottery Studio will also be moving to the Gallery location.
The MountainMade staff spent the week boxing, wrapping, loading and unloading hundreds of West Virginia made arts and crafts. We are pleased to report that nothing was broken.
The Gallery is now ready for summer and overflowing with great gifts for all occasions – we’re sure you’ll be able to find the perfect gift for someone special or even for yourself.
The MountainMade Artisan Gallery is located on Douglas Road. After you pass the U.S. Post Office, take a right onto Douglas Road at the MountainMade sign. The Artisan Gallery is three-quarters of a mile farther along the road.
Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, W.Va., is best known for intensive week-long workshops that annually attract several hundred participants. Thousands more attend public concerts, dances and festivals.
Augusta’s full-time staff, plus volunteers, seasonal staff and work-study students produce a great variety of quality workshops. These world-renowned workshops and festivals have brought together master artists, musicians, dancers, craftspeople and enthusiasts of all ages.
Memorial Day brings memories of parades, picnics and a day off from work or school.
In West Virginia, the origins of Memorial Day go back to the Civil War. In 1867, Maj. R. C. Bates was ordered by the War Department to locate a permanent burial site for the Union soldiers who had died in hospitals and battlefields throughout West Virginia.
Bates chose the Grafton location because it was relatively level in a region noted for mountainous terrain and it was near Maple Avenue Cemetery, where many war dead had already been buried. In 1867, Grafton held a “Flower Strewing Day” later called Memorial Day to honor those who served the community and the country during the Civil War.
We first met Mary in a MountainMade Studio class (Encaustic Painting with Michael Doig). It was no surprise in November 2009 when Mary’s work was juried in. She thinks “BIG.” Mary’s chosen medium is oil paints, abstracting from the plant life in her native Appalachian Mountains.
She tries to convey the sense of spirituality that can be felt while visiting a forest. She isolates and combines moments of particular appeal. Mary intuitively reacts to the colors and design elements within the forest floor, allowing them to evolve naturally.
